The great reputation these cars have was mainly earned from 1988 - 1994 when they competed in the Word Rally Championship, driven by such legends as Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol.
The ST165 won 13 WRC races, with Carlos Sainz winning the drivers championship in 1990.
The ST185 won 16 WRC races, with Carlos Sainz winning the drivers championship in 1992, Juha Kankkunen in 1993, and Didier Auriol in 1994.
That's four WRC drivers titles
Unfortunately in 1995 Toyota were caught cheating by bypassing the turbo restrictor that was required by the WRC Group A rally rules.
They were stripped of WRC points for that year and banned from competing in the WRC for 2 years.
Toyota returned to the WRC in 1997 with the Corolla Group A rally car. It was basically a Corolla with a (very modified) ST205 drive train.
I know Rallying / WRC isnt too popular in the USA, but it has a HUGE following elsewhere around the world.
You just need to look at some old Group B rallying videos (ie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYIH7ApCxoM) to see how fanatical some fans are.
Unfortunately those Group B cars were "too fast to race", and after a few rallying deaths, Group B was banned and Group A was introduced.
Anyway on with some WRC videos & photos... feel free to add any you find
The ST165 won 13 WRC races, with Carlos Sainz winning the drivers championship in 1990.
The ST185 won 16 WRC races, with Carlos Sainz winning the drivers championship in 1992, Juha Kankkunen in 1993, and Didier Auriol in 1994.
That's four WRC drivers titles
Unfortunately in 1995 Toyota were caught cheating by bypassing the turbo restrictor that was required by the WRC Group A rally rules.
They were stripped of WRC points for that year and banned from competing in the WRC for 2 years.
Toyota returned to the WRC in 1997 with the Corolla Group A rally car. It was basically a Corolla with a (very modified) ST205 drive train.
I know Rallying / WRC isnt too popular in the USA, but it has a HUGE following elsewhere around the world.
You just need to look at some old Group B rallying videos (ie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYIH7ApCxoM) to see how fanatical some fans are.
Unfortunately those Group B cars were "too fast to race", and after a few rallying deaths, Group B was banned and Group A was introduced.
Anyway on with some WRC videos & photos... feel free to add any you find
